Washington, D.C. – Today, as part of an omnibus appropriations and policy package, Congress passed legislation to update the Electoral Count Act (ECA) of 1887, an archaic law that provides the primary legal framework for casting and counting Electoral College votes in presidential elections.

“Our democracy is safer today than it was yesterday,” said Adav Noti, senior vice president and legal director of Campaign Legal Center. “By updating the Electoral Count Act, this legislation makes clear that presidential election disputes will be settled under the rule of law, not by Congress or state legislatures. We commend the members of Congress from across the political spectrum who put country over politics and moved this bill forward under challenging circumstances.”

“This strong, bipartisan legislation will go a long way in helping to safeguard the outcome of future presidential elections from bad actors seeking to distort or undermine the electoral process,” said Trevor Potter, founder and president of Campaign Legal Center. “Today we can celebrate victory, even as we acknowledge there is much more work to be done to protect elections and voters at the state and federal level.” 

The Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA) was introduced on July 20, 2022, by a bipartisan group of senators, led by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Manchin (D-WV). Thirty-nine senators cosponsored the ECRA: 22 Democrats, 16 Republicans and one Independent.

A separate proposal to update the ECA – the Presidential Election Reform Act (PERA) – was introduced in the House by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Liz Cheney (R-WY). The House passed that measure in September, which largely aligned with the ECRA and promoted the same key updates.

The original ECA contained confusing language and vulnerabilities that former President Donald Trump and his supporters tried to exploit as they attempted to overturn the 2020 election results. In 2021, CLC convened constitutional experts from across the country representing all political viewpoints to determine important updates to modernize the ECA. The new law Congress passed today includes several recommended changes:

• It prohibits state legislatures from changing the law after Election Day to overrule their voters and the results of the popular election.
• It provides procedures to resolve disputes about electors and election certifications before those disputes reach Congress.
• It strictly limits opportunities for members of Congress to second-guess states’ certified election results.
• And it clarifies the vice president’s ministerial role in the counting of electoral votes, reinforcing that the vice president does not decide election results.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th attack on our country issued a comprehensive report after a series of public hearings, conducting more than 1,000 interviews and reviewing hundreds of thousands of documents. The committee’s report contains detailed factual findings from its investigation, as well as a series of recommendations for policies and actions to ensure an attack like this never happens again.

Trevor Potter, founder and president of Campaign Legal Center and Republican Former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission, issued the following statement regarding the January 6th report:

“The January 6th attack on our country was a devastating example of what happens when partisan politicians sow distrust in our elections. We thank the House Select Committee members for their bipartisan work to fully investigate the circumstances of this horrific event, seek justice and hold bad actors accountable. Through a historic series of public hearings, the committee called attention to the organized attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Today’s report delves further into the details of January 6th, and we look forward to reviewing the committee’s proposals.

“Although this report concludes the committee’s work, the job of strengthening our democracy is far from over. We remind public officials at all levels of government that the ongoing threat of election manipulation must be addressed. Campaign Legal Center has previously outlined the comprehensive actions we believe are necessary to safeguard future presidential elections, and we urge lawmakers to support these policies.”

Washington, D.C. – The Senate has released an omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year 2023. It includes a bill that updates the Electoral Count Act (ECA) of 1887, an archaic law that provides the primary legal framework for casting and counting electoral votes.

The ECA has not been updated since its enactment more than 130 years ago, and it is rife with gaps and ambiguities that make it confusing. The law is important because it sets a timeline for selecting electors and transmitting their votes to Congress. The ECA also establishes procedures for how Congress counts the electoral votes.

Trevor Potter, founder and president of Campaign Legal Center and Republican Former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission, issued the following statement:

“Updating the Electoral Count Act is one step closer toward becoming a reality by the end of this year. The text of the omnibus bill released by the Senate includes critical changes to the Electoral Count Act to safeguard future presidential elections. These updates have enjoyed broad bipartisan support and passing this bill would be a major accomplishment. The next presidential election could be one of the most contentious ever, which is why we urge Congress to act without delay to protect the will of the people.”

Washington, D.C. – In a win for transparency, the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia sided with Campaign Legal Center (CLC) in a case challenging the failure of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to act regarding a massive coordination scheme between the 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton and Correct the Record, a super PAC.

In the December 8th opinion (linked here), the court ruled that the FEC had acted “contrary to law” in dismissing CLC’s 2016 FEC complaint against the Clinton campaign and Correct the Record, which alleged the groups had openly coordinated millions of dollars of spending in violation of federal disclosure requirements and contribution limits designed to provide transparency to voters.

“Voters have a right to know how candidates are financing their campaigns for public office. The Commission’s failure to hold the Clinton campaign and this super PAC accountable for up to $9 million in coordinated spending creates a loophole that would allow many more millions of dollars of undisclosed contributions to flow from outside groups to federal candidates across the ideological spectrum,” said Tara Malloy, senior director for campaign finance litigation and strategy at CLC. “This decision takes a crucial step to ensuring that the Federal Election Commission cracks down on coordination between purportedly independent super PACs and the campaigns they seek to subsidize.”

The original 2016 complaint (linked here) contended that Correct the Record had made, and the Clinton campaign had received, millions of dollars in illegal, unreported and excessive in-kind contributions in the form of coordinated expenditures. Despite FEC career staff attorneys concluding that the coordination orchestrated by Correct the Record likely violated the law, the Commission deadlocked and dismissed the complaint in 2019, prompting CLC to sue the FEC.

This decision remands the matter to the FEC, ordering the Commission to act within 30 days in accordance with the ruling.

The FEC’s failure to enforce campaign finance laws has resulted in an explosion of illegal political spending. This is an important step toward closing a loophole that could otherwise continue to allow millions of dollars of undisclosed contributions to flow from supposedly independent super PACs to the campaigns of federal candidates.